The changing face of accountability in Leadership at the top
The first bit of news I woke up to this morning was that Joe Biden’s Administration had passed a $1.2 trillion package of reforms around infrastructure which will offer HUGE investment, employment and social impact opportunities for millions. And then the Presenter reminded me that it would still have to survive a rough journey through the Senate before it was signed off. None the less, getting this far was a huge testament to the power of a bipartisan, collaborative approach to resolving major problems and is a step in the right direction in fixing the massive infrastructure challenges across the USA, as well as offering employment opportunities and massive investment potential.
The next news item felt even more driven by Responsible Investment: the enforced resignation of Toshiba Chairman Osamu Nagayama for massive failures in governance within the company, pre-dating his time in office, but which he is accused of doing his best to obfuscate since taking up the position only a year ago. The force behind it was that body of people with increasingly influence in the Boardroom; Activist Shareholders. What is particularly interesting in this case though is that they weren’t just impassioned Retail investors with placards outside the Head Office, but informed investors from within the giant proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc, which on Monday refused all compromise offers from inside the building and instead insisted that he had to go.
Equally interesting - and troubling to Governments of all colours and flavours around the world - is that the issue behind all this which vexed so many, is the revelation of shockingly poor governance by his predecessor - in collusion with the Japanese Government - to cover up the scandal they had ALL been part of - falsifying company profits - for YEARS! ISS decided it was time to hold all parties to account, wipe the slate clean and start again - irrespective of any short term effect on the share price. The decision to pursue Osamu and his fellow Directors makes clear that for them, the overarching principle of transparency and good governance was greater than any short -term financial loss they might suffer when news of hit the trading floors around the world. They are gambling, and actually, it’s not really that tough a gamble to make, is that any short terms drop in share price because of a shocked stock market, can only lead to an increase in share price in the longer term when the commitment to good governance become embedded into the business in a few weeks/months/years.
Even more encouragingly, the other big news headline was that Bumble, the dating app, had shut down for a week, giving ALL employees, world-wide, fully paid time off to recover from ‘collective burnout’ recognising the battle many are facing with mental health.
Driven by CEO of the $3 billion dating empire Whitney Wolfe Herd (pictured on the front at work with her babe in arms) who is known for her progressive values across the business but also for her resolve, having filed a lawsuit against Tinder for sexual harassment - whom she left in 2014 — and received over $1 million plus stock as part of a settlement, according to reports. Meanwhile Bumble offers a dating platform where women make the first move. Who’d have thought?
Anyone who doubts just how tough Mothers can be has obviously never seen us turn down a doe-eyed/defiant/tantrum-throwing/blackmailing demand from a screaming child in the middle of a supermarket when the trolley is overflowing and the fellow shoppers are tutting their disapproval.
The message is clear: Don’t mess with Mummies people!
